Yet another session, this one at Warner Brothers for a large orchestra got an unexpected visitor. The session was nonunion, as were the musicians, so it was none of the Local’s business. The music on this session, creating work for some 70 musicians, would have never been union.

VP Rick Baptist showed up,… two hours after the session was over, harassed the engineer and threatened the studio for taking the work.

Hopefully, the studio told him where he can stick his complaint. Even for the studios, union work doesn’t pay the bills anymore. BUt the RMA / ACOSTA / LOCAL 47 CABAL doesn’t care.

———————

3) TARGETING CONTRACTORS CREATING WORK

There’s very little union work left, so musicians, needing

to work and tired of the lip service and uselessness of the

Local are working together to create work the union has

lost or caused to leave, and in most cases work that would

never be union regardless.

One of the contractors who has been targeted doesn’t hire union players against their will, and hires non-union or fi-core musicians, so the local is totally impotent to do anything EXCEPT go after union musicians (some board members by the way) they might find who are doing the work to pay their bills. Any amount of your dues they use to go after musicians they cannot charge is simply being pissed away for no useful purpose.

As if you need reminding, it is virtually impossible to make a living doing solely union work unless you’re in the LA Phil, so everyone is doing non-union work.

Using your own dues to go against the only work you have? That’s the John Acosta / Local 47 DICK MOVE way! Even with the board members doing that same work… Hypocrites of the first order.

———————

4) FIGHTING AGAINST YOUR WORK

We’ve heard from two different musicians who contacted the union to try to make some nonunion productions union. Imagine that, actually trying to bring dues and pension (Whatever it’s still worth) and H and W INTO the union.

Their reward? Because they are fi-core musicians, Michael Ackney of the live music department would not tell them the scales they needed to reference and would not assist in any way. The excuse? POLICY. A DICK MOVE against contractors and the musicians they might hire.

Well unfortunately for the Local, what Ackney did is specifically against labor law. It is illegal to refuse such information to financial core musicians. When confronted with that fact, Michael Ackney said, All together now, “IT’S POLICY”, but agreed to answer ONE question.

Of course it’s NOT policy and Mr. Ackney should remember that before he starts making up arbitrary and discriminatory rules again.”

He needs to check labor law. Any musician, Member or Fi-Core, is legally entitled to any info they need. Every Fi-Core member pays $180 in dues to the union, therefore they are paying for access to that information. Don’t help them and you‘re breaking federal law Michael.

But can you believe they work to make it impossible to make non-union work union? Acosta’s DICK MOVE way indeed.

———————–

5) AN ORCHESTRA’S FRIEND?…. NOT

Recently, a local orchestra was paying OVER scale to their musicians, but wanted nothing to do with the union. The union found out and threatened them into signing a contract with the Local.

The upswing? The Local forced the orchestra to LOWER the payments to the musicians to match the scale. Lookin’ out for you? In a pig’s eye.

———————–

6) AN ORCHESTRA’S FRIEND?…. DEFINITELY NOT

Ever read in the local paper about the union getting a, say, 3%

pay raise for a CBA orchestra and patting themselves on the back profusely for their effort?

Well there’s only one problem with that. In at least one case, the forced pay raise resulted in a reduction in the number of rehearsals, causing in effect a pay cut for the musicians. In one case, the orchestra now has only one rehearsal per concert.

The Local working hard to make your life more difficult.

———————–

8) PENSION

The AFM is apparently now going to charge an additional 10% to employers to try to make up for the incompetent AFM / trustees screw-ups with our pension. Can’t you just see the employers bailing on union sessions for places unknown to record and save being grifted out of money to cover for the trustees mistakes and AFM mismanagement? A DICK MOVE against employers. And who’ll pay the price?

One guess.

—————-

How long will you be played for fools, Local 47 members? They do not deserve your money or your support.

Don’t get us wrong, we fully support GOOD, HONEST UNIONS. A union, however, must deserve their members support. This Local most certainly does not.

THE COMMITTEE

======================

II. NASHVILLE: THE NEW RECORDING DESTINATION

[Thanks RMALA and AFM Sychophants]

Nashville is making a major play for film and TV scoring work that, for economic and political reasons, has typically been going overseas. New legislation in Tennessee, which took effect July 1, is designed to attract that work, and some say it’s already having an impact.

When it comes to music for major studio films, most composers’ first choice is to record in Los Angeles and London. But independent films with smaller budgets and video-game producers tasked with creating many hours of gameplay music, two sectors that have been unable to strike a deal with American musicians’ union officials, have been taking their business elsewhere and making a show of it.

Tennessee state officials recently made a pilgrimage to L.A. to pitch the country-music capital as an American alternative. The state’s Visual Content Modernization Act, passed in May and signed by Gov. Bill Haslam, contains provisions for recording music in the state regardless of where the project originated. The idea, Tennessee
Entertainment Commission executive director Bob Raines says, is a cash rebate for producers, likely to be 25% (details are still being worked out). So a project that spends $100,000 on recording can expect $25,000 back — a substantial savings.

“It closes the gap in costs between Eastern Europe and other places,” says Steve Schnur, worldwide executive and president of music for video-game company Electronic Arts, which frequently records in Nashville. “London and L.A. are comparatively expensive. In Eastern Europe, it’s less quality but comparatively cheaper. Nashville has some of the best musicians in the world, and because of the composers who are going there regularly, the quality bar has gone up.”

While cities like Prague; Budapest; Bratislava, Slovakia; Skopje, Macedonia; and, more recently, Vienna have become attractive alternatives to higher-priced recording locations, Nashville is now out to replace them. The History miniseries “Texas Rising” was recorded there; so was music for TV’s “Fargo” and “Outlander” series. Several “Call of Duty” games and one “Star Wars” game recorded in Nashville, as did the movies “Show Dogs,” “Mother’s Day,” “The Star” and “Acrimony.” Says Jeff Russo, an Emmy winner for his “Fargo” music: “I loved working there. It’s a different feel from anywhere else in the world, and it certainly feels like making records.”

Austin Wintory, who used a Nashville orchestra for the game “Abzu,” says: “We were all just blown away at the caliber of musicianship. One of the nagging problems of recording in Eastern Europe is, even when the orchestras are good, the quality of the physical instruments they’re playing on is not as good.”

And while Nashville is inevitably more expensive than overseas — sources say one hires players in Nashville for $75 an hour as opposed to $25 or $30 an hour in Eastern Europe — Wintory says bang for the buck must be considered. “The challenge is reconciling the per-player rate with the speed at which one can move,” he explains. “If you pay a little more for Nashville but you can go twice as fast, it might be cheaper.”

Tennessee is a right-to-work state; you don’t have to be a union member to perform in the studios. That’s attractive to producers who aren’t interested in signing union agreements that tie them to later residual payments (the primary reason so much recording work has left California).

Says Alan Umstead, a top Nashville contractor for recording dates: “Most of my clients went to Eastern Europe but were not happy with the quality of work. Then they realized that they could come to Nashville and get quality and a nonunion buyout at a reasonable price.”

The drawback is that Music City only has one recording studio that’s suitable for film, TV and game work: Ocean Way, located in a 100-year-old church, and it can comfortably accommodate only about 75 musicians. Composers needing a larger orchestra generally record strings, brass and woodwinds separately and then mix them together later. There is talk of building a larger studio to accommodate the growing demand.

Says Raines, “We see ourselves as a state of content creators and storytellers. This is a way for us to help sell the state on our quality and efficiency and utilize our unique competitive advantage.” The pool of money available for the scoring rebate is expected to be $5 million, which, if it were all used, says Umstead, “would translate to $20 million worth of scoring work — a nice little incentive.”

But American Federation of Musicians Local 47 president John Acosta tells Variety that companies going to Nashville are taking advantage of the right-to-work laws to exploit talent. “They know that they can get these musicians cheaper by not having them under a union agreement,” he says. “They don’t have healthcare, or retirement benefits, or Social Security contributions or unemployment insurance.”

Prague contractor James Fitzpatrick has a different take. He notes that the competition for scoring has become worldwide. “With ever-tightening music budgets, more alternative venues and musical ensembles are on offer than ever before,” he says. “Surely that is a good thing for all musicians.”

“I appointed the girlfriend of a head of a players conference as the new pension trustee. Are you not entertained?”

Gail Kruvand Joins AFM-EPF Board of Trustees

Pension Fund Notes

Newsletter of the American Federation of Musicians and

Employers’ Pension Fund

Gail Kruvand Joins AFM-EPF Board of Trustees

The AFM-EPF Board of Trustees is pleased to announce

that Gail Kruvand has joined the Board as a Union Trustee.

Gail replaces departing Trustee Phil Yao, who leaves his

position after nearly 15 years of service on the Board.

The Trustees thank Phil for his dedication and hard

work on behalf of AFM-EPF participants and extend

a warm welcome to Gail.

Gail’s career as an AFM bassist spans nearly 40 years.

Her many credits include 27 years with the New York

City Opera Orchestra, numerous film/TV and sound

recordings, and subbing with Broadway shows, including

“Phantom of the Opera” and “My Fair Lady.”

At the New York City Opera, Gail served for more than

10 years on the orchestra committee and several times

on the negotiating committee, including as chairwoman

of each. She was a member of the Local 802 Executive

Board from 2010 to 2017 and attended AFM conventions

in 2013 and 2016 as a delegate. Gail also has experience

serving on the boards of AFM player conferences, including

the ICSOM Governing Board and the RMA Executive Board.

Per the AFM Bylaws, Gail was appointed by AFM International

President Ray Hair after consulting with the AFM Player

Conferences. As a Trustee, Gail will participate in rigorous,

ongoing education and training on issues such as plan

funding, investments, federal legislation and other issues

relevant to administering the Fund. In this unpaid role, Gail will

join the Trustees in receiving advice from the Fund’s actuary,

investment advisor and other experts that help inform

Trustee decisions.

We thank Gail for accepting this important responsibility to her

fellow musicians. Participants can find more information on

the role and structure of the Board of Trustees in the June 18 issue of

Pension Fund Notes

[MUSICIANS: Oh Good – Another person with no financial experience

is going to be a trustee. What could go wrong? Connections as always,

regardless of worth.

======================

IV. SONGWRITER SUES SAG-AFTRA / AFM

Grammy-nominated songwriter and record producer Kevin Risto has filed a class action lawsuit against SAG-AFTRA, the American Federation of Musicians and the trustees of the Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund, claiming the unions violated their fiduciary duty to session musicians and backup singers by taking a 3% service fee on all royalties they’re owed.

Risto, who has written and produced songs for Justin Bieber, Jennifer Lopez, 50 Cent and Frank Ocean, claims that SAG-AFTRA collected more than $1.7 million in service fees in 2016 that it was not entitled to – and has been collecting similar fees since 2013. The suit (read it here), filed June 22 in Los Angeles Superior Court, wants the union to repay the money and stop collecting it in the future.

The suit notes that federal law grants the owner of a copyright in a sound recording the exclusive right to perform and reproduce it publicly by means of a digital audio transmission. Sound Exchange, an affiliate of the Recording Industry Association of America, is the sole U.S. entity authorized to collect royalties due from these songs. It then turns the performers’ share of the money over to the fund, which was established by the unions to distribute the royalties to members and non-members alike.

The suit states that prior to its merger with SAG in 2012, AFTRA distributed these royalties without ever collecting a service fee, but that after the merger, the fund’s trustees – all of whom are officials or members of the unions – approved granting the unions a 3% service fee on the royalties they distribute.

The suit claims that the defendants “were trustees of the Fund, but were acting with deep conflicts of interest to the benefit of the unions, by which they were employed. This service fee reduces the amount of capital in the Fund and therefore reduces the amount of money available to the beneficiaries of the Fund.”

According to the suit, “Defendants violated their duties to the Trust when authorizing the service fee and diverting funds away from the Fund and to the unions. The service fee is purportedly paid to the unions for the provision of certain data and representation of ‘Fund interests.’ However, all of the obligations conferred on the unions in the service agreement were activities that the unions were already performing as a benefit to its members. No new consideration was provided by the unions in exchange for the service fee.” The suit also alleges that the defendants violated the terms of the service agreement by paying the trustees’ expenses.

Risto, who is not a member of either union, is represented by attorneys Paul Kiesel and Neville Johnson of Kiesel Law LLP In Beverly Hills.

The text below came from a popular online blog for composers and orchestrators.
QUESTION: SESSION ORCHESTRAS
Hello my wonderful composer family! I was wondering if anyone
could give me referrals for a really awesome session orchestra?
The music is difficult, and I need players who are seasoned at
session work and can sightread well.

I recently recorded players here in Seattle from a local symphony –
all great performers, but not experienced studio players….and
there is unfortunately a good chance I’m not going to be able to
use the sessions that we did. 🙁 The likelihood of re-recording
seems eminent and this time around I need to get it right.

I’ve heard there is a great session orch in Nashville, and
obviously many in LA….just looking for links, referrals,
reviews….I need a GOOD one. Thanks in advance.

ANSWERS
-If I am thinking correctly, I believe in East Coast Scoring ?

-Nashville for the win (unless its a Union LA gig).
Else London UK but exchange rate is a tough pill.

-My rep at Yamaha recommended one in Nashville as
well – do you happen to know which one, and a link? 🙂

-Contact Alan Umstead. Our guys here are as good as it gets.
Just did a session at Ocean Way the other day and I can’t
rave enough. They sight read like nobody’s business, too.

-I just recorded my piano tracks at Yamaha in Nashville (I’m a
Yamaha artist), and Ocean Way was highly recommended.
I’ll check it out – thank you!!

-I’ve seen great stuff out of ocean way

-Budapest is great

-seconded. The strings there are pretty great for the budget
they play their butts off and have fun doing their gig.

-Here’s another option for you. CMG, she’d be happy
to put together a quote for you. http://www.cmgmusicrecording.com/

-Are you familiar with the folks at Bastyr? (Seattle)
Might be worth reaching out, even if you wind up
going elsewhere. http://www.seattlemusic.com/

-yes I actually recorded choir at Bastyr on my last
album… and yes familiar with Andrew – I hadn’t
thought of this. I will check it out.

-Seattle Music is the best option in the pacific
northwest. I’ve had dozens of session there
at Bastyr. Talk to David Sabee if you do.

-“Well seasoned” and “sightread well” are both
terms to describe Nashville. I’d highly recommend
that you give us a try. But either way, best of luck
in what sounds like a tough spot. Hang in there,
you’ll get it done!

-Thanks for that David….a little encouragement
after a stressful few days of finding my previous
session was not good is very appreciated.. 🙂
I just recorded at Yamaha in Nashville and my
engineer there Ryan Nelson recommended a
scoring orch in Nashville….do you have a link?

-We would love to learn more about your project
and see if there’s a good fit with what we can
offer at HUGE Studios in Salt Lake City. We
have the lowest cost, high quality, live orchestral
recording solution in the entire United States.

-Hi, thanks for all this wonderful information. I’ve
actually recorded some very small sectionals in
SLC with Nate Drew for a couple of film scores
and album projects that I’ve done. I haven’t heard
of your group though – do you by chance have a link,
and also where I can listen to some of the work
you’ve done? Thanks so much.

-his is actually where I recorded your music before it
became Huge Sound. Great stage, and Michael is
still engineering there I believe.

-yes they did! A lot depends on how well prepared
the sheetmusic and associated click tracks are etc.,
and really difficult stuff requires more than a single
run through with almost any orchestra… how many
players are you thinking? How difficult? And are you
going to a click track? I’m just curious. But yes,
they’re excellent.

-Nashville! The guy to contact is Chris McDonald. THE BEST.

-I have recorded several times in Nashville as I believe
have Trevor Morris and Andrew Gross. The core players
are excellent, but the “bench” is not as deep as LA,
so booking early helps.

-Reach out to Vince Emmett – he can help guide you
about Nashville (he’s a composer client of mine,
based in the area – mention you were referred by me).

-Karen Garrity of CMG Music Recording in Hollywood, CA

-You will not find a better combination of musicianship,
sight-reading, and easy-going people than in Nashville.
And they work amazingly fast and efficiently.

==============================

II. EVENTS

DEAN AND RICHARD are now at Culver City Elks

the first Friday of every month.

7:30pm-10:30pm

11160 Washington Pl.

Culver City, 90232

310-839-8891

—————————

6/3/18

CalStateLA Symphony Orchestra/Olympia Youth Orchestra

You are cordially invited to the Admission FREE concert,
“Summer Romance”, given by the CalStateLA Symphony
Orchestra/Olympia Youth Orchestra on June 3, 2018 at
3PM at the
San Gabriel Mission Playhouse,
320 S Mission Drive, San Gabriel, CA 91776.

The concert will feature guest soloist, Professor Meng-Chieh
Liu of the world renowned New England Conservatory as
well as the Curtis Institute performing the 2nd Piano
Concerto by Brahms. This is a concert not to be missed.

The orchestra is made up of talented young musicians ages
12 through college age. They gain admission to the orchestra
through our annual competitive audition which is coming up in
the summer. If there are any young and talented music
students playing an orchestral instrument, please feel
free to refer them to apply. The application can be submitted
on line from the website http://www.olympiaphil.org/wp/
under the section “youth orchestra”.

Please come support these young musicians and enjoy an
afternoon of great music. If you need to have some complimentary
tickets sent to you, please reply with your mailing address and
they will be on their way ASAP.

The Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program at the Seattle Film Institute
is now accepting applications for the one-year
Master of Music in Film Composition
One of the Top 4 Film Music Programs in the World!
Recently rated as the #4 school in the world for film
scoring education by Music School Central.
“in just one year, the school places students into a
pressure cooker of intense learning resulting in a
professional demo reel that can be used to obtain
future paid commercial opportunities.”

Learn from Industry Professionals
All PNWFS faculty are active professional film and
game composers, orchestrators, copyists, and
engineers, including the program’s creator and
lead instructor Dr. Hummie Mann. Hummie is the
two-time Emmy Award winning film composer of
“Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and featured in
Variety Magazine’s article “Leaders in Learning”.
Our Program Features: • 9 live recording sessions with professional
musicians at Studio X, Seattle’s premiere, world-class studio. • Opportunities to work with student directors
to score actual films from film programs all
over the world. • Training in all major software programs used
in the industry. • A state-of-the-art workstation assigned to
each student fully installed with the latest versions
of all software, sample libraries and plug-ins needed to complete the program.

Accelerated and Affordable
We are a one-year Master of Music in Film
Composition program which not only gives our
graduates the opportunity to enter the industry
and start their careers a year sooner than other
programs but saves them an entire year of living
expenses. In addition to our accelerated format
we also offer the most affordable tuition out of
competing programs. Our students have access
to FAFSA financial assistance, loans, and
scholarships as well.

History of Success
We are very proud to have a high success rate
for our graduates who have gone on to work on
television shows such as Castle, Empire, and Once
Upon a Time; video games such as World of Warcraft,
Spate, and Destiny; and films such as The Revenant,
Trolls, The Dark Tower, and Guardians of the Galaxy
Vol. 2. Apply now and you could be joining their ranks!
Applications are being accepted for the Fall 2018
school year.
We offer rolling admissions – no deadline to apply.

You are cordially invited to the Admission FREE concert,
“Summer Romance”, given by the CalStateLA Symphony
Orchestra/Olympia Youth Orchestra on June 3, 2018 at
3PM at the
San Gabriel Mission Playhouse,
320 S Mission Drive, San Gabriel, CA 91776.

The concert will feature guest soloist, Professor Meng-Chieh
Liu of the world renowned New England Conservatory as
well as the Curtis Institute performing the 2nd Piano
Concerto by Brahms. This is a concert not to be missed.

The orchestra is made up of talented young musicians ages
12 through college age. They gain admission to the orchestra
through our annual competitive audition which is coming up in
the summer. If there are any young and talented music
students playing an orchestral instrument, please feel
free to refer them to apply. The application can be submitted
on line from the website http://www.olympiaphil.org/wp/
under the section “youth orchestra”.

Please come support these young musicians and enjoy an
afternoon of great music. If you need to have some complimentary
tickets sent to you, please reply with your mailing address and
they will be on their way ASAP.

The Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program at the Seattle Film Institute
is now accepting applications for the one-year
Master of Music in Film Composition
One of the Top 4 Film Music Programs in the World!
Recently rated as the #4 school in the world for film
scoring education by Music School Central.
“in just one year, the school places students into a
pressure cooker of intense learning resulting in a
professional demo reel that can be used to obtain
future paid commercial opportunities.”

Learn from Industry Professionals
All PNWFS faculty are active professional film and
game composers, orchestrators, copyists, and
engineers, including the program’s creator and
lead instructor Dr. Hummie Mann. Hummie is the
two-time Emmy Award winning film composer of
“Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and featured in
Variety Magazine’s article “Leaders in Learning”.
Our Program Features: • 9 live recording sessions with professional
musicians at Studio X, Seattle’s premiere, world-class studio. • Opportunities to work with student directors
to score actual films from film programs all
over the world. • Training in all major software programs used
in the industry. • A state-of-the-art workstation assigned to
each student fully installed with the latest versions
of all software, sample libraries and plug-ins needed to complete the program.

Accelerated and Affordable
We are a one-year Master of Music in Film
Composition program which not only gives our
graduates the opportunity to enter the industry
and start their careers a year sooner than other
programs but saves them an entire year of living
expenses. In addition to our accelerated format
we also offer the most affordable tuition out of
competing programs. Our students have access
to FAFSA financial assistance, loans, and
scholarships as well.

History of Success
We are very proud to have a high success rate
for our graduates who have gone on to work on
television shows such as Castle, Empire, and Once
Upon a Time; video games such as World of Warcraft,
Spate, and Destiny; and films such as The Revenant,
Trolls, The Dark Tower, and Guardians of the Galaxy
Vol. 2. Apply now and you could be joining their ranks!
Applications are being accepted for the Fall 2018
school year.
We offer rolling admissions – no deadline to apply.

So you’re at an orchestra rehearsal. How
do you spend your time before the downbeat?
Choosing the best reed? Change strings?
Put in bowings? Tune timps? Check your calendar?

Well, if you were at a recent Burbank
Philharmonic rehearsal, you had 9 minutes
before the downbeat stolen for a sales
pitch from Local 47.

The players were forced to sit and listen as
some person from the Local tried to shove
propaganda down their throat about some
new program called “Union Strong”. More
like “Union Scam.” First it was “Listen Up”,
turns out it was really “No, You Listen
(from the members)”, the majority of
events with “Union Strong” have been
to press for more studios to record union
in town or to push for tax credits to i
ncrease recording work.
The problem? It won’t help most members
and they have the gall to want you to
donate your time and effort to help
bring work back for those who ruined
the recording industry to begin with?
Fat Chance. Don’t be played for a fool.
This isn’t for you, it for those who have
the jobs already.

Acosta and the rest of them are answering
only to the RMA. Unless you’re in the club
they don’t give two blinks about you.

One player we spoke to said they might file
a grievance to get paid for those 9 minutes
the Local stole from them. We think it’s a good idea.

Speak up or get sheared. It’s as simple as that.

THE COMMITTEE

================================

II. MEMBER COMMENTS

Every orchestra could do one IMA (Intagrated
Media Agreement) buyout per year and a lot
of work would come back.

100% pension good up front fee.

But the AFM, owned by the RMA, won’t allow it.

[EC: That’s the long and short of it.]

—————————-

The following was a response to the rendering of our new 47
in the latest Overture announcing the formal open house party.

hmm clicked on the link there is nothing about an auditorium

the “elite” is totally in charge now and will do whatever they
want. The general membership is woefully uninformed, and
therefore uninvolved. In the last few years the only time when
the membership was informed and activated was when the
direct access blog was up on the internet. It facilitated an
online community of our professional musicians, with a
direct, real-time discussion of issues at hand, independent
of Local 47 control. Until a similar forum reappears, the
general membership will be marginalized to the point of
virtually vanishing, which is the goal of the elite –
as long as they keep sending in their dues checks.

————————————-

No quorum yet again for the April GM meeting.
However, expect a quorum for the July meeting….
there is a designated group that has put together a
“strategic plan” that includes adjustments to the by-laws.

The whole thing stinks!

————————————

I see a sign that says AUDITORIUM…where is it located?
So far there isn’t one!!! Does the BOD mean to create
an inference that there is an AUDITORIUM?

The fact is that most of the membership does not use the
facility…sooo…the BOD creates the illusion that there
is an AUDITORIUM…? Of course there can’t be an
“auditorium” because the City of Burbank will only
allow a “‘ultimate-purpose” room! Q.) Is the
tomato/tomauto…or?

[Yep, we have no auditorium and the only ones the
den of compliance want to hear from are the RMA.
Rank and file need not apply.

More and more work being done fi-core and non-union.
The Local has made themselves a paper tiger and
useless to all but the in-crowd.]

======================================

III. EVENTS

DEAN AND RICHARD

are now at Culver City Elks the first Friday of every month.

7:30pm-10:30pm,

11160 Washington Pl.

Culver City, 90232

310-839-8891

—————————

5/5/18

On Saturday MAY 5, 2018 at noon to 1:00pm

the free admission Edendale Up Close Concerts
will feature

violinist /violist Connie Kupka and cellist David Speltz
in solo and duo works by
Kodaly,
J.S. Bach, and
Beethoven.

Duo for viola and cello with two eyeglasses obbligato – L. van Beethoven

—————————

The Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program at the Seattle Film Institute
is now accepting applications for the one-year
Master of Music in Film Composition
One of the Top 4 Film Music Programs in the World!
Recently rated as the #4 school in the world for film
scoring education by Music School Central.
“in just one year, the school places students into a
pressure cooker of intense learning resulting in a
professional demo reel that can be used to obtain
future paid commercial opportunities.”

Learn from Industry Professionals
All PNWFS faculty are active professional film and
game composers, orchestrators, copyists, and
engineers, including the program’s creator and
lead instructor Dr. Hummie Mann. Hummie is the
two-time Emmy Award winning film composer of
“Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and featured in
Variety Magazine’s article “Leaders in Learning”.
Our Program Features: • 9 live recording sessions with professional
musicians at Studio X, Seattle’s premiere, world-class studio. • Opportunities to work with student directors
to score actual films from film programs all
over the world. • Training in all major software programs used
in the industry. • A state-of-the-art workstation assigned to
each student fully installed with the latest versions
of all software, sample libraries and plug-ins needed to complete the program.

Accelerated and Affordable
We are a one-year Master of Music in Film
Composition program which not only gives our
graduates the opportunity to enter the industry
and start their careers a year sooner than other
programs but saves them an entire year of living
expenses. In addition to our accelerated format
we also offer the most affordable tuition out of
competing programs. Our students have access
to FAFSA financial assistance, loans, and
scholarships as well.

History of Success
We are very proud to have a high success rate
for our graduates who have gone on to work on
television shows such as Castle, Empire, and Once
Upon a Time; video games such as World of Warcraft,
Spate, and Destiny; and films such as The Revenant,
Trolls, The Dark Tower, and Guardians of the Galaxy
Vol. 2. Apply now and you could be joining their ranks!
Applications are being accepted for the Fall 2018
school year.
We offer rolling admissions – no deadline to apply.

It only took 48 hours after the Musicians for Pension
Security national meeting on April 4th for the AFM-EPF
Trustees to reject each and every proposal we made,
casually brushing aside months of careful work by
our team of experts. Rather than engaging in a dialogue
concerning the positive and creative recommendations
we made for lessening the impact of cuts to our pensions,
cutting expenses, or reforming the board, the Trustees
chose to question our motives and attack our all-volunteer
organization that works on behalf of fellow musicians
across the country. Read the letter the trustees sent
to us on 4/6 here.

This is especially disappointing because at the national
meeting MPS made clear its desire to work with the
Trustees to find solutions to our pension crisis. Prior
to the meeting MPS and its actuary Tom Lowman
made direct offers to the Trustees, and AFM-EPF plan
actuary, Milliman, to meet and discuss our proposals.
The Trustees did not respond. Again, at the meeting,
we reached out to our Trustees and urged them to
engage with us. We wanted to represent the voice of
musicians around the country and be part of the process
now before any cuts are instituted. After all, it is our
pension plan that is currently at risk.

Unfortunately, these honest overtures have been summarily
rejected. The Trustees have made it clear that they have
no intention of listening, engaging or taking input from MPS
or anyone else. Since December of 2016, when the Trustees
first told plan participants about the possibility of cuts, we
have been held in suspense, waiting for a plan from the
Trustees. Unfortunately sixteen months later, our Trustees
still have no plan for the future until we hit rock bottom.
Then, and only then, will the Trustees act, taking the easy
way out by pursuing cuts to our benefits.

THE FACTS

At the National Meeting MPS proposed a comprehensive
Action Plan that would stabilize the AFM-EPF for decades
to come. The Action Plan included a three-year delay of
benefit cuts, negotiating 6% increase in employer contributions,
and a 10% cut in administrative expenses. We also called
for board reform, including the replacement of five out of
eight the trustees and bringing more financial investment
and actuarial expertise onto the board. Finally, we asked
the Trustees to engage more meaningfully on the Butch
Lewis Act in Washington DC.

The Trustees’ response to each of these proposals
was to reject them out of hand. Here is a point by
point response to the Trustee’s misguided attack:

Proposal For a Three-year Delay in Cuts

Trustees: Plan for a three-year delay in benefit cuts
is “based on a distortion of facts“ and is “just empty
rhetoric.”

MPS: The three-year delay was based on financial
modeling done by one of the foremost actuaries in
the multiemployer pension field, Tom Lowman. Mr.
Lowman believes a three-year delay is possible if
the Union leaders can obtain 6% contribution increases
and a 10% cut in expenses. In support, Mr. Lowman
cited numerous instances where pension plans in
trouble obtained 6% increases in employer contributions
for multiple years. These included the Baltimore
Teamsters and the Central States Teamsters fund.
He also cited the fact that the AFM-EPF itself obtained
6% increases in employer contributions for multiple
years in the middle part of the last decade.

The Trustees do not even attempt to address
this extensive factual record.

History of Mismanagement

Trustees: “Since the 2008 global financial recession,
the Trustees have consistently taken action to
preserve the Fund.”

MPS: The Trustees have produced the worst investment
returns in their peer group of large pension plans, have
the highest expenses of any fund in the entertainment
industry, and cannot raise employer contributions even
to the rate of wage inflation. We have written a piece
entitled “A Track Record of Mismanagement” that you
can access here to view our detailed analysis of the
Trustees’ self-serving and misleading claims on their
performance. There is now overwhelming evidence
that this pension plan has been badly mismanaged.
The Trustees’ refusal to take even an iota of responsibility
for that fact is alarming.

Assumptions Concerning Growth in Employer
Contributions

Trustees: Getting employers to contribute more
is “complicated.” The AFM-EPF is assuming that
employer contributions will grow 2.5% per year,
and this is “based on historic averages.” Any claim
that the growth in employer contributions should
be set higher “shows lack of understanding of
our industry or the Fund’s actual experience.”

MPS: Tom Lowman does not lack understanding
of the situation. He explained his reasoning on
this point quite clearly. First, the AFM-EPF has
itself obtained much higher employer contributions
than 2.5% in the past. Second, the current rate of
wage inflation is 2.9% and as Tom said, any
pension plan that assumes its rate of increases
in employer contributions is less than wage
inflation is probably making an erroneous assumption.

Expense Discipline

Trustees: “MPS’ own actuary stated clearly that
expenses were not the issue.”

MPS: Tom Lowman said nothing of the kind.
His model clearly calls for 10% expense cuts,
and a three-year delay in cuts would not be
achievable without them. MPS legal counsel
Jonathan Kantor stated at the meeting that
without meaningful expense cuts, the Trustees
might not be able to clear the key MPRA
hurdle at U.S. Treasury of taking “all reasonable
measures” to avoid insolvency. The Trustees’
renewed claims that they have exercised
expense discipline is demonstrably false.
Their own projection calls for 2.25% increases
in expenses over the next 20 years, with
no cuts in sight. See our accompanying piece,
“A Track Record of Mismanagement,” for
details on the Trustees’ abysmal record on
expenses here.

Board Reform

The Trustees simply failed to address this
important issue, even though it is an essential
element of our Action Plan, and one that
received an enthusiastic response at the
National Meeting.

At the meeting, we pointed out that the Trustees
we have been serving for a long time – some
of them for decades. We also pointed out that
they severely mismanaged this Plan to the
brink of disaster. Even if they get the cuts that
they are looking for, there is nothing to prevent
them from going for more cuts in the next 5
to 10 years. The only way to prevent this from
happening is to bring onto the board competent,
experienced and accountable Trustees who
are experts in their fields, particularly the
investment and the actuarial fields.

Legislative Engagement

Even in their recent piece, it’s clear that the
Trustees have left themselves plenty of room
to back away from the Butch Lewis Act. “The
trustees will strongly advocate to [the select
committee] for a remedy that fully addresses
the financial issues facing our fund while
treating our participants fairly.” That could
well include the proposal of the NCCMP,
which is the lobbying organization which is
closely aligned with our Trustees. NCCMP
has been advocating forcefully against the
application of the Butch Lewis Act to plans
like ours. They have also been advocating
changes to MPRA that would make it easier
for plan sponsors to get cuts to pension
benefits. Details on this can be found in
the attached piece, “A Track Record of
Incompetence.”

Transparency

Trustees: “MPS’ propaganda and smear
tactics are detrimental to the Union’s ability
to get members behind negotiating increases
to contributions….We will continue to provide
the participants with accurate information,
not political spin.”

MPS: It appears the Trustees have adopted
a popular method of response to constituents
demanding accountability that is widely used
in politics today: When faced with fact-based
and solid criticism, they claim to be “attacked”
and call the truth a “fantasy.” We deserve better
leadership. We deserve leadership that holds
the democratic process as sacred and does
not denigrate its members for having an open
discourse about the possibility of speaking
with our vote on this issue. They could have
an open discussion with us but they hide
behind Hart Associates. They could have
face to face meetings but they use webinars
where they control the message. They claim
that this is politics when no member of MPS
has ever held nor ran for an AFM office. As
long time, dues-paying members, we deserve
a responsive and respectful discourse from
our elected leaders. We did not get that in
Friday night’s letter nor at any moment
since we started a year ago.

The Trustees’ Plans

Trustees: “Trustees are also planning for
the future and are currently considering
many options.”

MPS: That is deliberately vague. MPS
has obtained documents from AFM-EPF
files showing that the Trustees are in
advanced stages of planning for cuts
to our pensions. They have even had
a series of discussions with the staff
of the U.S. Treasury about the best
way to frame their cut application.
They have extensively modeled cuts
in the 23-30% range, and this has
been going on since late 2015. The
Trustees have set compassion and
empathy aside for retirees who could
lose their homes or have a significantly
reduced quality of life by saying “we
simply don’t know” when continually
asked, “what is the plan.”

Fellow musicians – we deserve better than this.

There is a clear absence of leadership
at the AFM-EPF. Ray Hair, Tino
Gagaliardi and the other trustees’ only
plan is to wait for our fund to hit rock
bottom, then and only then they will
finally act and cut benefits taking the
easy way out. It is now clear that while
the Trustees wait for us to hit rock
bottom the only other thing they will
do is attack anyone trying to propose
proactive solutions or asking for a basic
level of accountability. While the
Trustees try to attack their way out
of the problem they created, Musicians
for Pension Security will continue to
look for solutions and find a way
forward on behalf of fellow musicians
across the country.

In order to continue working on your
behalf, we need your help. We will
be starting our spring fundraising
drive later this week. Please donate
what you can.

In solidarity,
MPS

Send a check or money order payable
to Musicians for Pension Security, Inc to:

Please help spread the word! Click
below to share on Facebook and
Twitter. We must work together to
save our pension .

[Colleagues, Did you really expect anything
different? These folks are only out for themselves,
their own profit, and seemingly the perfect folks
for the Trump Era.

We wish MPS the best of Luck, but expect
nothing from the trustees and their Lackeys
at the AFM (or the other way around.)
We’re sure they already know exactly what
they’re going to do.

We’ve also been told a fake email account was
created the day before the meeting to trash
whatever the MPS said… They are predictable
if nothing else.]

=================================

II. HELP THE MPS

Thanks for a Great Meeting Now MPS
Needs Your Help! Please Donate

Musicians For Pension Security celebrated its
first anniversary with a highly successful
nationwide meeting on April 4th. MPS thanks
all of our fellow musicians who participated in
the meeting, both in NYC and watching across
the country via Facebook Live.

Assisted by the expert advice of nationally
recognized actuary Tom Lowman and legal
counsel Jonathan Kantor, we presented the
MPS Action Plan: A three-part approach,
detailing ideas and reforms that will make
significant improvements to the fund. If you
missed the MPS National Meeting or want
to watch again from home, you can see the
complete videos and power point presentations
of the meeting here. A summary of the MPS
Action Plan is here.

MPS 2018 Fundraising Drive

Last summer we asked for your help and you
overwhelmingly responded to our fundraiser.
We reached our $15,000 goal in less than
two weeks thanks to your quick action and
generosity. That allowed us to hire one of
the country’s leading actuaries Tom Lowman.
The MPS team now has a viable Action Plan
thanks to our experts. This spring, MPS once
again needs your help to advocate for that
plan and many other initiatives in the coming
months.

MPS needs to raise $15,000
by June 1st.

2018 is a crucial year. Your donations will go
a long way in helping to secure a more certain
future for our pension fund. As You know, we
are an all-volunteer organization working on
behalf of fellow musicians across the country.
Every single dollar donated to MPS goes
directly to protecting our pension.

Help us keep the MPS team together. Help us
push for the MPS Action Plan. Help us protect
the pension fund. Donate what you can today!
And thank you!
Click the button below to donate.

Send a check or money order payable to
Musicians for Pension Security, Inc to:

Musicians for Pension Security
45-06 Queens Blvd.
Suite 202
Sunnyside, NY 11104
Please help spread the word! Click below
to share on Facebook, Twitter or forward
this email. We must work together to save
our pension!

at the Seattle Film Institute
is now accepting applications for the one-year
Master of Music in Film Composition
One of the Top 4 Film Music Programs in the World!
Recently rated as the #4 school in the world for film
scoring education by Music School Central.
“in just one year, the school places students into a
pressure cooker of intense learning resulting in a
professional demo reel that can be used to obtain
future paid commercial opportunities.”

Learn from Industry Professionals
All PNWFS faculty are active professional film and
game composers, orchestrators, copyists, and
engineers, including the program’s creator and
lead instructor Dr. Hummie Mann. Hummie is the
two-time Emmy Award winning film composer of
“Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and featured in
Variety Magazine’s article “Leaders in Learning”.
Our Program Features: • 9 live recording sessions with professional
musicians at Studio X, Seattle’s premiere, world-class studio.

• Opportunities to work with student directors
to score actual films from film programs all
over the world. • Training in all major software programs used
in the industry. • A state-of-the-art workstation assigned to
each student fully installed with the latest versions
of all software, sample libraries and plug-ins needed

to complete the program.

Accelerated and Affordable
We are a one-year Master of Music in Film
Composition program which not only gives our
graduates the opportunity to enter the industry
and start their careers a year sooner than other
programs but saves them an entire year of living
expenses. In addition to our accelerated format
we also offer the most affordable tuition out of
competing programs. Our students have access
to FAFSA financial assistance, loans, and
scholarships as well.

History of Success
We are very proud to have a high success rate
for our graduates who have gone on to work on
television shows such as Castle, Empire, and Once
Upon a Time; video games such as World of Warcraft,
Spate, and Destiny; and films such as The Revenant,
Trolls, The Dark Tower, and Guardians of the Galaxy
Vol. 2. Apply now and you could be joining their ranks!
Applications are being accepted for the Fall 2018
school year.
We offer rolling admissions – no deadline to apply.

This local, and by extension the AFM has a habit of illegally
charging members for things that are not mentioned in the
bylaws:
They pull these (non-existent) rules out of thin air, and charge
members, hoping they won’t know any better and just go along.

Well, going along is happening less and less. More people
are looking at the bylaws and rules and calling the Local
on their illegal actions.

The latest example was Charles Fernandez forcing the Local
to refund his Annual dues after he was told there was
a policy that allowed the Local to double charge if the
person going fi-core had made the mistake of paying
member dues in full and going fi-core.

Not true, there was not and still isn’t policy allowing the
double charging of people who choose fi-core.

REMEMBER THAT folks! If you go fi-core they cannot
keep your membership dues and ask you to pay the full
fi-core fee.

=========================

II. CONDUCTORS

Conductors can conduct any recording session, union or
non-union. If you are charged, it is an illegal, illegitimate
charge.

There is no ‘conductors’ wing of the AFM. There is no mention
of conductors in the AFM bylaws as to conducting recording
sessions. Nothing, nada. If they try to tell you otherwise.
demand they show you where it says that
in the bylaws. They cannot, it is not there.

Some years ago they charged Austin Wintory for conducting
on a session in Dallas. It was an illegal charge, but he wrongly
assumed (probably told by a dishonest Local employee)
that it was a legit offense, and he paid a fine, something
he never should have done.

They pulled the same stunt on Charles Fernandez, and those
charges ultimately had to to be dismissed and they manufactured
more fake charges against him that cost him a lot of money.

They currently have charges against another conductor for
conducting on a nonunion session. It’s an illegal charge,
the conductor knows it, the local knows it, but they’re
continuing to harass him.

No shame…

=========================

III. COMPOSERS

Likewise, there is no “composers” wing to the AFM.

Any composer can work anywhere, anytime for
anyone. The AFM has no say. If they try to
tell you you’re doing something wrong, you
can tell them where to put their charges.

So they have targeted several conductor/
composers recently, all illegally, but
we’ve just gotten a picture from Nashville
showing a very popular film composer
working with the non-union group there.

No worries though, this composer is part
of the “Club”, so they will never say a word.

Such is the dishonesty and two-faced
nature of the Local and the AFM.

================================

IV. EVENTS

DEAN AND RICHARD

are now at Culver City Elks

the first Friday of every month.

7:30pm-10:30pm,

11160 Washington Pl.

Culver City, 90232

310-839-8891

———————————————————————————

4/7/18

ROSS WRIGHT’S
Double Concerto for Bass Trombone and Tuba
This Saturday April 7th at 7:30pm.
The Azusa Pacific University Wind Ensemble will be
performing my Double Concerto for Tuba and Bass
Trombone at the:

Bonita Center for the Performing Arts on the
campus of San Dimas High School.

800 W Covina Blvd,
San Dimas, CA 91773

Rich Bullock Bass Trombone
Performed and recorded with the Don

Ellis Orchestra from 1975-1978. Joined

Bill Watrous’ Refuge West Big Band

in 1978 and, after a hiatus of several

years in the 1980’s, continues to be a
regular member of the band to this day

(WHO’S GOT THE HEAT?). Toured with

Harry James and Al Hirt in 1980. Since

the early 1980’s has also performed and/or

recorded with the big bands of Tom Kubis,

Gordon Goodwin, Paul Cacia, Bill Perkins, Matt

Catingub, Ladd McIntosh, Woody Herman (post

Woody), Jack Sheldon, George Graham, George

Stone, Joey Altruda, Wayne Bergeron, Buddy

Bregman, Chris Walden, Dirk Fischer, Gary Urwin,

Scott Whitfield, Phil Woods, Alan Broadbent, the

Ron Jones Influence Jazz Orchestra and the Stan

Kenton Alumni Orchestra under the direction of

Mike Vax. Has been a trombonist (and vocalist,

sort of) with Tracy Wells’ Big Band since 1975.

Popular artists performed or recorded with include

Peaches and Herb (remember disco?), Bob Welch,

the LA Boppers, Toni Tennille (with Matt Catingub),

Chicago (with Bill Watrous), Natalie Cole, Steve Allen

(with Tom Kubis), Johnny Mathis, Bobby Caldwell, Lou

Rawls, Paul Anka, Bernadette Peters, Steve Lawrence

and Eydie Gorme, Robert Goulet, Collin Raye, Lorna

Luft, Patti Austin, Michael Bolton, Chris Botti, Luis

Miguel and many more. Since the late 1970’s has been

more or less (mostly less) involved with freelance motion

picture and television recording. Was a frequent performer

for the Long Beach Civic Light Opera from 1985-1995.

Has performed occasionally with the Long Beach Opera,

Opera Pacific, Long Beach Symphony and Pacific

Symphony since the late 1980’s. Performed with the

Long Beach Municipal Band as a regular member and

substitute from 1973 (pre-Proposition 13) until 2007.

Was part of the all-star band that performed for the

world premiere of the show “Like Jazz” at the Mark

Taper Forum from November 2003 to January 2004.

Has recently been working on the scores for the animated

series “Family Guy” and “American Dad”

John van Houton
Ranked among the first call tubists in the top recording

city of Los Angeles, John Van Houten is best known as a

tubist, contractor & orchestra manager, and teacher, Van

Houten has performed on several major television shows

and popular movie soundtracks including “Family Guy”,

“The Simpsons”, Hulk, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Trek,

the award winning UP, and Ratatouille. He has taught at

prestigious institutions throughout Southern California,

and has performed with some of the finest musicians

in the world.

Concert begins at 7:30pm with a 20 minute set of three

short pieces with members of the Orange Lutheran High

School Band/Orchestra, a quick intermission, then Azusa

Pacific University Wind Ensemble will perform.

——————————————

4/11/18
Coming to Vibrato April 11th @ 7:30pm

The Fabulous Grammy Nominated PHIL NORMAN TENTET

reminiscent of the refreshing sounds of West Coast Jazz.

Los Angeles, CA.90077

Reservations call 310-474-9400

PLAYING THE MUSIC OF Rogers & Hart, George

Shearing, Benny Goodman, Hank Mancini, Debussy,

Joseph Kosma, Billy Strayhorn, Jimmy Forrest,

Stanley Turrentine Bob Nolan and others.

——————————————

4/20/18

Sanford Hinderlie and Tom van der Geld in concert!
Friday, April 20, 7:30 p.m
Louis J. Roussel Performance Hall
Loyola’s main campus
Admission is free
Coming back to New Orleans after several concerts in Europe this year
Sanford Hinderlie and Tom van der Geld perform a jazz duo concert for piano
and vibraphone. Tom and Sandy are performing original compositions, both
new and from the 40+ years each has contributed to the world of jazz.
This concert is sponsored in part by the State of Louisiana Board of Regents Support Funds
for Louisiana Artists and Scholars (ATLAS)

—————————-

The Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program at the Seattle Film Institute
is now accepting applications for the one-year
Master of Music in Film Composition
One of the Top 4 Film Music Programs in the World!
Recently rated as the #4 school in the world for film
scoring education by Music School Central.
“in just one year, the school places students into a
pressure cooker of intense learning resulting in a
professional demo reel that can be used to obtain
future paid commercial opportunities.”

Learn from Industry Professionals
All PNWFS faculty are active professional film and
game composers, orchestrators, copyists, and
engineers, including the program’s creator and
lead instructor Dr. Hummie Mann. Hummie is the
two-time Emmy Award winning film composer of
“Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and featured in
Variety Magazine’s article “Leaders in Learning”.
Our Program Features: • 9 live recording sessions with professional
musicians at Studio X, Seattle’s premiere, world-class studio. • Opportunities to work with student directors
to score actual films from film programs all
over the world. • Training in all major software programs used
in the industry. • A state-of-the-art workstation assigned to
each student fully installed with the latest versions
of all software, sample libraries and plug-ins needed to complete the program.

Accelerated and Affordable
We are a one-year Master of Music in Film
Composition program which not only gives our
graduates the opportunity to enter the industry
and start their careers a year sooner than other
programs but saves them an entire year of living
expenses. In addition to our accelerated format
we also offer the most affordable tuition out of
competing programs. Our students have access
to FAFSA financial assistance, loans, and
scholarships as well.

History of Success
We are very proud to have a high success rate
for our graduates who have gone on to work on
television shows such as Castle, Empire, and Once
Upon a Time; video games such as World of Warcraft,
Spate, and Destiny; and films such as The Revenant,
Trolls, The Dark Tower, and Guardians of the Galaxy
Vol. 2. Apply now and you could be joining their ranks!
Applications are being accepted for the Fall 2018
school year.
We offer rolling admissions – no deadline to apply.

I. OOPS!
We’ll bet the buyer of the union hall didn’t count on this!
So much for those big plans for that land.
Heard of a “Pig in a Poke?”
————–
Musicians Union Hall in Hollywood

Given Local Monument Status
Posted by Contributing Editor

on March 23, 2018 in Hollywood |

Leave a response

The Los Angeles City Council Friday voted to add the Musicians
Union Hall in Hollywood to the city’s list of historic-cultural monuments.

The Musicians Union Hall at 817 Vine St. was built in 1950 and was
one of the final commissions of architect Gordon B. Kaufmann
before his death in 1949. It was nominated for monument
status by Hollywood Heritage.

“Hollywood is a neighborhood deeply rooted in the entertainment
industry, rich in landmarks and historic resources that help paint
a picture of our past as well as a look to our future of film and
television production,” said Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who
represents the Hollywood area. “I was thrilled to work on this
application with owner Lincoln Property Company and the
applicant Hollywood Heritage. The collaboration will help
preserve a bit of Hollywood history for generations to come.”

Until July 2017, the hall served as a clubhouse and organization
headquarters for the Musicians Union Local 47, now known as
the American Federation of Musicians Local 47.
Kaufmann was the architect who designed the Greystone
Mansion in Beverly Hills, a 1930s-era section of the Los
Angeles Times complex, the Earl Carroll Theater and the
Palladium.

The council’s 11-0 vote found that the hall qualified for
monument status for multiple reasons, including that it
is an example of Corporate International style architecture
in Hollywood. The union was also the first local musicians
union in the United States to desegregate, and the building
was where tens of thousands of musicians paid their dues
over the years.

Lincoln Property is currently securing tenants for the building,
and the space will be used for studio and creative office uses,
O’Farrell’s office said. Lincoln Property is also constructing a
three-story, 52,477-square-feet office building neighboring
the Musicians Union Hall to the north.

https://tinyurl.com/y75mfk2g

=========================

II. WHO DO WE THANK?
So who really started the process of making
the Vine Street building a Local Monument site?
Who brought it to the attention of the city?
One we can certainly thank is Helen Crosby.
The other is Susan Winsberg, who gave a very
effective and influential presentation to the
Los Angeles City Council.

BRAVA!

Here is the letter that most likely started the process.
Re: Proposed Sale of Musicians Union/ Musicians Club
building and property-Vine street and Lillian Way,
Hollywood, CA 90038

You and/or your organization are receiving a copy
of the enclosed Letter of Concern regarding the
proposed sale of the real estate property owned
by the Musicians Club of Los Angeles, a 501 ( c)
2. The property is held for the benefit of the parent
organization, Professional Musicians Union of
Hollywood, Local 47 AFM, a 501 ( c) 5.

One or more of the issues contained in the
Letter of Concern may also be of concern
to you and/or your organization.

Excerpts from a Letter of Concern: Dated November 9, 2015

LETTER OF CONCERN

This letter is being written to communicate to those interested
parties of clear opposition to the decision of the Executive
Board of the Musicians Club/Local 47 to sell the real estate
property owned in Hollywood, CA. Approval of the sale
must be obtained from the membership by referendum.

Contrary to the proposal of the elected officials, there is
deep concern among the rank-and-file that 1) the membership
strongly disagree with the sale of the union hall, which is a
Hollywood “mid-century” landmark and our historic home;
and 2) the membership has been systematically kept from
engaging in regular membership meetings where concrete
action might be taken; and 3) the timeline for the process
of the sale of the properties has been manipulated to frustrate
any debate; and 4) the Local 47 officers, who have been
working towards the sale of this real estate for six months
before making the membership aware of the proposal, are
now using every tool at their disposal, including the official
newspaper, phone banks and staff personnel, to influence
the outcome of the vote on the issue.

Simply put, there is a consensus outside the administration
by the few who have been able to engage in discourse, that
the elected officers are seeking a quick fix to a long term
problem, i.e. the decrease in revenue to the local. Simply
put, we are being hustled and muscled out of our historic
home without consideration of alternatives to being divested
of a wholly owned facility.

Nationwide Meeting for all AFM Musicians
Wednesday April 4, 2018 at 5pm
St. Malachy’s Church
239 W 49th St, New York, NY

Come and hear the experts on our team:

Thanks to your contributions, our
independent actuary Tom Lowman,
has finished his analysis and will
present his findings and give his
recommendations for the AFM-EPF.

You will also hear from Jonathan
Kantor, our legal counsel, who will
explain the process that our trustees
must follow in order to obtain cuts
to our pensions, together with legal
options that they — and we — have.

If you haven’t already, please click here to RSVP

It is critical that all AFM members make
every effort to attend this meeting. If you
cannot attend, join us via Facebook LIVE
on the MPS Facebook page. Your attendance
at the MPS National meeting will help to give
you a better understanding of what is happening
to our pension and the solutions we think will
make a difference.

LIVE STREAMING ON FACEBOOK
Streaming will start 5 pm EDT. Go to our
Facebook page here. Click follow and opt-in
to receive notifications when we go live. Due
to time constraints, we will not be able to
answer questions posted to Facebook
during the meeting. Please send all questions
to [email protected]
We will get back to you ASAP.

REMINDER: FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Twitter has become a popular tool with politicians.
In future calls to action, we can use it to
message them directly. Go to our Twitter
page here and click FOLLOW.

Who is MPS? Click HERE.

What is MPRA? Click HERE.

In solidarity,
Musicians for Pension Security

Stay informed with MPS. Join our mailing list here.

==================================

IV. MEMBER COMMENTARY

RMALA 30 years late, when most of what they
profited from is gone they just now are bringing
this to Musicians attention?

When they have time on their hands they’re
forced to look around and find out how much
they lost. And caused to be lost.

Last weekend brought the 2018
UCLA Entertainment Symposium –
and a focus on streaming.

Streamers’ Spending Spree the Talk of UCLA
Entertainment Symposium is the title of a great
article by Jonathan Handel, One key excerpt
demonstrates how far music and musicians
have been left behind in this new “Golden Age
of Television”: That loot has enabled SVOD
services to spend $5 million to $7 million per
hour-long episode, significantly greater
than the $3 million to $5 million that
networks spend…”

Sanford Hinderlie and Tom van der Geld in concert!
Friday, April 20, 7:30 p.m
Louis J. Roussel Performance Hall
Loyola’s main campus
Admission is free
Coming back to New Orleans after several concerts in Europe this year
Sanford Hinderlie and Tom van der Geld perform a jazz duo concert for piano
and vibraphone. Tom and Sandy are performing original compositions, both
new and from the 40+ years each has contributed to the world of jazz.
This concert is sponsored in part by the State of Louisiana Board of Regents Support Funds
for Louisiana Artists and Scholars (ATLAS)

—————————-

The Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program at the Seattle Film Institute
is now accepting applications for the one-year
Master of Music in Film Composition
One of the Top 4 Film Music Programs in the World!
Recently rated as the #4 school in the world for film
scoring education by Music School Central.
“in just one year, the school places students into a
pressure cooker of intense learning resulting in a
professional demo reel that can be used to obtain
future paid commercial opportunities.”

Learn from Industry Professionals
All PNWFS faculty are active professional film and
game composers, orchestrators, copyists, and
engineers, including the program’s creator and
lead instructor Dr. Hummie Mann. Hummie is the
two-time Emmy Award winning film composer of
“Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and featured in
Variety Magazine’s article “Leaders in Learning”.
Our Program Features: • 9 live recording sessions with professional
musicians at Studio X, Seattle’s premiere, world-class studio. • Opportunities to work with student directors
to score actual films from film programs all
over the world. • Training in all major software programs used
in the industry. • A state-of-the-art workstation assigned to
each student fully installed with the latest versions
of all software, sample libraries and plug-ins needed to complete the program.

Accelerated and Affordable
We are a one-year Master of Music in Film
Composition program which not only gives our
graduates the opportunity to enter the industry
and start their careers a year sooner than other
programs but saves them an entire year of living
expenses. In addition to our accelerated format
we also offer the most affordable tuition out of
competing programs. Our students have access
to FAFSA financial assistance, loans, and
scholarships as well.

History of Success
We are very proud to have a high success rate
for our graduates who have gone on to work on
television shows such as Castle, Empire, and Once
Upon a Time; video games such as World of Warcraft,
Spate, and Destiny; and films such as The Revenant,
Trolls, The Dark Tower, and Guardians of the Galaxy
Vol. 2. Apply now and you could be joining their ranks!
Applications are being accepted for the Fall 2018
school year.
We offer rolling admissions – no deadline to apply.

Here is the full story in the media of the musician’s story – you
can also watch the video of her being harassed by Grayson.

Luanne Homzy, a gifted musician who was concertmaster at Colburn as a
student, says she has been bullied by AFM Local 47 in a case of mistaken
identity. The fight has cost Luanne $15,000.
Here’s her post:
In August of 2016, I found out through back channels that I was
being accused by AFM Local 47 for taking part in a non union
recording session at which I was not present, yet one month later,
I was formally charged by the AFM. Erick Cruz (whose back
you will see in this video – not able to look at me) made the
fraudulent claim that it was me in the photos he took of a
musician walking on a street with a violin case.

During the time between the leaking of the list of accused
musicians and officially charging me, Mr. Cruz was given
information that I was in a different county at the time,
yet he and his “colleagues” still went ahead with charging
me. As soon as I received the official charge in September
2016, my attorney, who I had made aware of the situation
when the information had been leaked to me in August
2016, replied with my phone location records and signed
receipts from the day and time of the alleged session.
However, as you will see in this video from late October
2016, Gordon Grayson (who was recently fired from the
Local) still hadn’t removed my charge, more than 2 months
after I had found out I was being falsely accused.

I have since spent over $15,000 defending myself against
the slanderous claims made about me and distributed with
intent by the Local, not to mention the harassment,
intimidation, false promises, and threats that would
follow. I was presented with an unlawful NDA by the
local in exchange for a public apology and reimbursement
of approximately 40% of my legal fees (which at the
time totalled to about 10K), yet if I were to breach the
agreement, I would owe the Local $10,000, and another
$20,000 if I breached it a second time. I refused to sign
such an agreement, so, tonight, I break my silence and
I ask for your solidarity as I take a stand for what is
right.

Keeping silent will only allow them to keep getting away
with their behavior and abuse of power, and I do not wish
upon anyone the mental, financial, and emotional misery
they have intentionally inflicted upon me. The Union
cannot continue to abuse its members when they should
be looking out for them. Shame on you Local 47.

I am not alone, and there are numerous accounts of this kind
of union thuggery. I’m collecting stories like mine for an
upcoming news feature, so please feel free to reach out to
me if you are (or someone you know is) interested in sharing
their story — my wish is that this will bring awareness and
ultimately put a stop to this kind of harassment.
(This is footage from my car’s dash cam, from October 2016
when I was accosted by union officials in the parking lot of
Local 47, after going in for help with filling out music prep
forms.)

[EC: Watch the video: You could fill a dumptruck with the
BS spewed by Grayson]

=========================

II. THE LOCAL BOARD HAS A MOLE?

Related comment from an anonymous source.
Executive board to issue a public statement
regarding the victim of “misidentification.
Plan is to discredit claims….admin in
shambles. Female board member PG breaking
executive session confidentiality to
colleagues and contractors attempting
to slam accuser.

Board used as puppet.

Watch what the local will do….
you heard it here first.

=========================

III. LOCAL DOES THE RIGHT THING

Message from Charles Fernandez:
After letters to the officers and much research
and evidence to back up my claim of double
charging, the Local chose to send me refund
check for my 2018 dues.

While this situation should never have happened,
I am grateful that someone at the Local saw that
they needed to do the right thing.

Would they have done the right thing if I had not
found another musician in virtually the same
situation that they refunded? Talk amongst
yourselves.

You know what they say, “Even an broken clock…”

This should serve as an example to members:
If you choose Fi-Core status and have recently
paid your annual dues, you must be re-imbursed
by either refund of dues OR transfer of membership
dues to the fi-core fee.

Charles Fernandez

=================================

IV. COMMENTS

At that Village session, union cronies
tried to sneak in 3 times posing as
workers, and have shown up at this
composers sessions several times.

[EC: Their conduct toward the composer
is illegal.

1) If he IS a union member, the union
cannot say squat about what they do.
There is no COMPOSERS wing of the union.
It’s truly none of their business what a
composer does.

Composing is not covered in any union
scale.

2) If he is NOT a union member, they
have even less to say about the situation.
It’s truly none of their business.

Either way, the Local is looking to
get themselves served with a class action
lawsuit from composers and conductors if
they don’t stop breaking the law and
back off.

We need to get rid of special payments,
they only benefit a few people.
The VP can’t tell members to play
non-union gigs and then bust them

————————-

From “TAKE BACK OUR LOCAL”

Feel free to TEXT MESSAGE your “President”
John Acosta and let him know what YOU THINK
about the job he is doing: 323-337-7631

————————-

I understand that unions need to represent
union work but… they are hiring
representatives that are second rate
which the 47 bored approves.

Cause those bored people think they
have a handle on it while pinching
pennies at incompetent personnel
hoping the problem will be clinched
in the end.

This is going to cost 47 some money.
We all know how musicians are viciously
taken out in La La Land behind close
doors without hearing the other side.

I found it interesting that they
sought her out in the parking
lot rather then in the building.

————————-

You seem to be expecting ethical conduct
from people who have been proven unethical.

————————-

At least keeping both payments for the whole
year should not be a policy…perhaps some kind
of pro-rate? Do you think that they do this to
incentivize people from going if-core during any
given year…having to pay more to a union that
does everything it can to keep union work
confined to a few?

————————-

Interesting question….just what part of the
bylaws applies to the fi-core “members”?

EC: No part of the bylaws mention or apply to
financial core musicians}

================================

V. EVENTS

DEAN AND RICHARD are now at Culver City Elks

the first Friday of every month.

7:30pm-10:30pm,

11160 Washington Pl.

Culver City, 90232

310-839-8891

——————————————————

HELIX COLLECTIVE COMPOSING OPPORTUNITY –

DEADLINE, MARCH 25TH!

Apply to have your original score performed live-to-
picture by Helix Collective at the 2018 Los Angeles
Live Score Film Festival! Apply with a link to your
video reel and a PDF score.
Application deadline: March 25, 2018
APPLY HERE
More info: www.lalsff.org
LASFF Trailer Video

The Los Angeles Live Score Film Festival features
short films with original scores performed live-to-
picture. The 2018 festival on Saturday, July 21st
at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre is presented by
Helix Collective in collaboration with the
Academy of Scoring Arts. Films for the 2018 festival
are curated by the faculty at the New York Film
Academy, Columbia College, Hollywood, and
the L.A. Film School.

Selected film composers are paired with a winning
filmmaker to create an original score for the festival.
The film is screened with the score performed live
by the renowned performance and recording ensemble,
Helix Collective. The screening includes an interview
with the filmmakers and composers. Awards for Best
Picture and Best Musical Score are presented at the
close of the festival.

Now in it’s fifth season, LALSFF’s goal is to highlight
the role of collaboration between composers and
filmmakers. Acting like a talent agent, the festival
brings experts in the two disciplines together. At the
screenings, filmmakers and composers hear and
see the work of new colleagues, meet new collaborators,
and establish working relationships with each other.

Helix Collective www.helixcollective.net

3/25/18
LA WINDS CONCERT THIS SUNDAY, MARCH 25TH
Stars of the LA Winds!

Join us afterwards for our Wine Tasting Reception! This
concert takes place at the Performing Arts Center of Agoura
High School with a No host post-concert reception at the
Boar Dough Tasting Room in Agoura.

The Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program at the Seattle Film Institute
is now accepting applications for the one-year
Master of Music in Film Composition
One of the Top 4 Film Music Programs in the World!
Recently rated as the #4 school in the world for film
scoring education by Music School Central.
“in just one year, the school places students into a
pressure cooker of intense learning resulting in a
professional demo reel that can be used to obtain
future paid commercial opportunities.”

Learn from Industry Professionals
All PNWFS faculty are active professional film and
game composers, orchestrators, copyists, and
engineers, including the program’s creator and
lead instructor Dr. Hummie Mann.

• Opportunities to work with student directors
to score actual films from film programs all
over the world.

• Training in all major software programs used
in the industry.

• A state-of-the-art workstation assigned to
each student fully installed with the latest versions
of all software, sample libraries and plug-ins

needed to complete the program.

Accelerated and Affordable
We are a one-year Master of Music in Film
Composition program which not only gives our
graduates the opportunity to enter the industry
and start their careers a year sooner than other
programs but saves them an entire year of living
expenses. In addition to our accelerated format
we also offer the most affordable tuition out of
competing programs. Our students have access
to FAFSA financial assistance, loans, and
scholarships as well.

History of Success
We are very proud to have a high success rate
for our graduates who have gone on to work on
television shows such as Castle, Empire, and Once
Upon a Time; video games such as World of Warcraft,
Spate, and Destiny; and films such as The Revenant,
Trolls, The Dark Tower, and Guardians of the Galaxy
Vol. 2. Apply now and you could be joining their ranks!
Applications are being accepted for the Fall 2018
school year.
We offer rolling admissions – no deadline to apply.

It’s has just been confirmed to us that after
being asked why he cannot work towards
getting rid of the back end
President John Acosta was quoted as saying:
“I can’t, the RMA would have my head.”

Coward indeed.

=========================

II. MEMBER COMMENTARY

Someone recommended I write to the blog when I
saw your latest post. Rick B told me to do non-union
gigs over the phone. He said: “Let me put on my
trumpet hat for you – I get that you need to do non-
union gigs in order to make a living so just do it but
don’t publicize it.” He told me several times it
was OK to do non-union gig but I shouldn’t post
about it on Facebook or social media.

Several people can confirm that he said this to
other people as well.

Total Hypocrites

I was also harassed by Gordon which is why
I went to Rick.

They would not direct me to the proper channels
in order to go fi-core. Gordon harassed me over
the phone and kept asking, “Why do you want
to go fi-core? You’re the reason why the union
in hurting.”

Anyways, I’m really glad what the blog is doing
– exposing those criminals. Something has to change.
I’m tired of selected harassment and I know who that
person was who was falsely accused and I hope
they’ll be getting all of that $$$ back that they spent.

name withheld.

[EC: We have reports, and some reports posted
publicly on facebook, of Pres. Acosta telling
musicians the same – the player he told that to
posted it himself.

\Grayson: I’m Gordon Grayson. I’m the guy that file
charges against you. I just spoke to your attorney.

#####: I don’t think we can discuss that until
further proceedings, at this moment. We have
not had this properly negotiated so we are not
willing to make a statement.

Grayson: Who are you by the way?

#####: I don’t have to identify myself.

Grayson: No, you don’t. I’m just curious.

#####: I am looking out for the safety of
@@@@

Grayson: Well, I have some information
that you could find important.
#####1: We can’t speak on it but, we are
welcome to listen if you want to tell us
your standpoint.

Grayson: I just spoke with your lawyer, ********,
and I assured her that there has been a
misidentification. It’s unfortunate that
you even had to incur the cost of an
attorney. You know that this process
is not a legal process, it’s an internal
union process by which we are able
to be sure in certain instances or
circumstances, uh, where musicians
may or may not have been in violation
of our bylaws.

So, it’s really an investigative process
not necessarily disciplinary. So the idea
was to get a positive identification of
musicians who are in violation of the rules,
uh, if our identification was incorrect, we
want to know that too. So obviously the
interest is not to misidentify people or
accuse people of things that are not
necessarily true. So, I have received
information from some people who
were there (at the bridge) who confirmed
that you were not and that is satisfactory
to me so, our intent is to put that in writing
to let you know and also, to let the
Federation know that this is a misidentification,
uh, and that those charges will be withdrawn,
um, and for all of that I apologize.

As far as public disclosure the…..a….list of
musicians that was sent to each musician
contained every other musician’s name but,
that is the extent of the distribution. I sent
that to the Federation I am sure most
musicians on that list have a bedded
interest so other people don’t know that
don’t know that they were on it. So I
doubt very seriously that the list is
being distributed but I can’t say for
certain. Uh, it was not my intent to
distribute that list to every musician.

I sent that to the Federation, the Federation
sent that to every musician so they
could have redacted it. And in the
future, I would try to convince them
to do that. If there ever arose a situation
like this again, it’s pretty rare and it’s
pretty new to me to deal with such a
large scale so there are things I could
have done better and I will next time.

So I will put something in writing to you
and your lawyer, I will put something in
writing to the Federation and then as far
as do not hire list, there is no such list
as of now because these charges are
still outstanding. There’s no list out there
that says don’t hire

@@@@@, but there are some people
that might not want to hear from Mark
Robertson but, (awkward laugh) our
union is not telling anyone not to hire
anybody. You know I would not stand
in the way of any of those musicians
from getting union employment because
that’s what we come here every day for,
to try to help people look out for themselves
and for their interests. I want to extend an
apology; you know it was certainly not
intended. We come here to help musicians.
And that’s the intent here is to keep our
contracts going and protect the musicians
who do say no to non-union work. So it’s
unfortunate that you got caught up in that
and I appreciate how upset you are and
I understand that we didn’t do it on
purpose we will do everything we can to
not let that happen again.

[EC: So where’s his reimbursement
of legal fees? ($15,000) An apology in
no way is enough.,… no where near.]

================================

IV. DOUBLE CHARGING NOT RESOLVED

Charles Fernandez wrote to the Local 47 secretary
asking for chapter and verse of the rule that allows
the union not to apply reg. dues to fi-core dues when
a musician converts.

Will they do the right thing and refund
Mr. Fernandez’ double charging?

If they are ethical they will,
if they aren’t they won’t. If they
don’t, to our thinking this means
they are guilty of defrauding
each member they do this to.

Let’s just say we won’t hold our
collective breaths.

Any thoughts? We want to know.

THE COMMITTEE

================================

V. MPS NATIONAL MEETING NEXT WEEK!
Save the date:
Nationwide Meeting for all AFM Musicians
March 21, 2018 at 5pm
St. Malachy’s Church
239 W 49th St, New York, NY

LIVE STREAMING ON FACEBOOK
Streaming will start 5 pm EST. Go to our
Facebook page here. Click follow and opt-
in to receive notifications when we go live.
Due to time constraints, we will not be able
to answer questions posted to Facebook
during the meeting. Please send all
questions to [email protected]
We will get back to you ASAP.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Twitter has become a popular tool with
politicians. In future calls to action, we
can use it to message them directly. Go
to our Twitter page here and click FOLLOW.

BREAKING AFM PENSION NEWS!

• Musicians for Pension Security recently
obtained the AFM-EPF trustees’ own
documents made public by law. (read
them here) These documents reveal
that the pension trustees have been
planning cuts to our pension benefits
going all the way back to August of 2015.
According to those documents the
trustees are targeting a 25-30% cut
to existing benefits.

• On January 4, 2018, in a letter to
Congressional leaders, our trustees
declared that our pension plan “is on
the brink of entering critical and declining
status in the near future.” (Read the
January 4 letter here.) MPS believes
the trustees could set a MPRA
application into motion as early as
June 2018, which starts the process
that allows the trustees to cut our
benefits.

• MPS hired Tom Lowman, a
nationally recognized pension actuary,
to review the situation. At the March 21
meeting, Tom will show how our trustees
are proceeding upon questionable
assumptions that we would like to
change and will explain why. Tom
Lowman thinks that delaying cuts
and working on improving the funding
is the way to go. Cutting benefits
now may result in larger cuts than needed.

• You will also hear from Jonathan
Kantor, our legal counsel, who will
explain the process that our trustees
are following to obtain the cuts,
together with legal options that they
— and we — have.

It is critical that all AFM members
make every effort to attend this
meeting. If you haven’t already,
please click here to RSVP to the
March 21st meeting or join us via
Facebook LIVE on the
MPS Facebook page. Your attendance
at the MPS National meeting will
help to give you a better understanding
of what is happening to our pension
and the solutions we think will
make a difference.
Who is MPS? Click HERE.

What is MPRA? Click HERE.

In solidarity,
Musicians for Pension Security

Stay informed with MPS. Join our mailing list here.

=====================================

VI. COMMENTS

Well…well…so they could not even credit Fernandez with
the dues he already paid? They did have a published
policy on how monies received would be applied…e.g.
Annual dues, work dues (past) or (present)…etc. I
don’t recall seeing anything about fi-core funds…
and btw I would say paying twice for the same time
period is providing the union with unjust enrichment…
they get almost twice as much while you get less than
half as much…hmmm.

They should be able to confirm when such a policy
was initiated and where was it first posted?

Does the local actually have a policy regarding dual
payments that explains how and why they should
be able to keep two payments for the same period?

I would argue that if they want to keep the regular
annual dues then you should be able to use their
facilities for the year.

———————————–

At least keeping both payments for the whole
year should not be a policy…perhaps some kind
of pro-rate? Do you think that they do this to
incentivize people from going if-core during any
given year…having to pay more to a union that
does everything it can to keep union work
confined to a few?

———————————–

Kinda reminds me of the current white house s••• show –
Marc Sazer suing because he’s not getting hired – good god –
what entitlement -the RMALA is going to drive every last
session out of town except for the few that they’ll do at
the one major studio left – what reasons do we have to
be union anymore – my work dues were ZERO last month –
I’m not going to help them in upcoming negotiations as
they were requesting input from rank and file recording peeps –

———————————-

WOW….

Great public record…maybe should ask John Acosta what he
thinks of the Sazer suit? LOL!

———————————-

freelance players are not subject to tenure unless there is a
provision for it in the collective bargaining agreement.
To my knowledge there are no more “studio orchestras”
as was in the “golden age” of studio cinema…the players
showed up and worked an essentially 9-5 job.

The RMA has (by design and from the beginning tried
and very much) succeeded in creating a de facto tenure
for themselves where there was none.
You are either IN or OUT of their “club”.

———————————-

IF the DOL had the will, they could see what the RMA
has done to disenfranchise the majority of the membership.
They kicked out Bernie Fleischer because he wouldn’t
go along. Only need to show that SDC was installed
in the Local by the RMA…the secretary to the deceased
music contractor at Universal….a few people made
boatloads of $$$.

———————————-

Another colleague says….

Not happy to consider a dead union….because it is
the people in charge of THIS local that are the
problem…unionism via the union movement
has helped a great many people in many industries.

[The committee has been and always will
be pro-union. But we’re pro “ethical” union,
not a corrupt one.]

———————————-

JA has his eyes on achieving big labor union leader
status (not necessarily with AFM)…the EB spends
the local dues flying him all over to “promote”
the Local…in reality he is using those resources
to promote himself…there is no political
photo-op he won’t chase. Really…what kind
of return did LA get by handing out CD’s to
the Chinese? What did be actually do in
Havana besides giving out priestly handshakes?

Does anyone know if JA has ever worked
under a collective bargaining agreement
as a playing musician?

———————————

….. Welcome to Trump’s World!!

———————————

Interesting question….just what part of
the bylaws applies to the fi-core “members”?

================================

VII. EVENTS

DEAN AND RICHARD are now at

Culver City Elks the first Friday of every month.

7:30pm-10:30pm,

11160 Washington Pl.

Culver City, 90232

310-839-8891

——————————————————

HELIX COLLECTIVE COMPOSING OPPORTUNITY –

DEADLINE, MARCH 25TH!

Apply to have your original score performed live-to-
picture by Helix Collective at the 2018 Los Angeles
Live Score Film Festival! Apply with a link to your
video reel and a PDF score.
Application deadline: March 25, 2018
APPLY HERE
More info: www.lalsff.org
LASFF Trailer Video

The Los Angeles Live Score Film Festival features
short films with original scores performed live-to-
picture. The 2018 festival on Saturday, July 21st
at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre is presented by
Helix Collective in collaboration with the
Academy of Scoring Arts. Films for the 2018 festival
are curated by the faculty at the New York Film
Academy, Columbia College, Hollywood, and
the L.A. Film School.

Selected film composers are paired with a winning
filmmaker to create an original score for the festival.
The film is screened with the score performed live
by the renowned performance and recording ensemble,
Helix Collective. The screening includes an interview
with the filmmakers and composers. Awards for Best
Picture and Best Musical Score are presented at the
close of the festival.

Now in it’s fifth season, LALSFF’s goal is to highlight
the role of collaboration between composers and
filmmakers. Acting like a talent agent, the festival
brings experts in the two disciplines together. At the
screenings, filmmakers and composers hear and
see the work of new colleagues, meet new collaborators,
and establish working relationships with each other.

at the Seattle Film Institute
is now accepting applications for the one-year
Master of Music in Film Composition
One of the Top 4 Film Music Programs in the World!
Recently rated as the #4 school in the world for film
scoring education by Music School Central.
“in just one year, the school places students into a
pressure cooker of intense learning resulting in a
professional demo reel that can be used to obtain
future paid commercial opportunities.”

Learn from Industry Professionals
All PNWFS faculty are active professional film and
game composers, orchestrators, copyists, and
engineers, including the program’s creator and
lead instructor Dr. Hummie Mann. Hummie is the
two-time Emmy Award winning film composer of
“Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and featured in
Variety Magazine’s article “Leaders in Learning”.
Our Program Features: • 9 live recording sessions with professional
musicians at Studio X, Seattle’s premiere, world-class studio. • Opportunities to work with student directors
to score actual films from film programs all
over the world. • Training in all major software programs used
in the industry. • A state-of-the-art workstation assigned to
each student fully installed with the latest versions
of all software, sample libraries and plug-ins needed to complete the program.

Accelerated and Affordable
We are a one-year Master of Music in Film
Composition program which not only gives our
graduates the opportunity to enter the industry
and start their careers a year sooner than other
programs but saves them an entire year of living
expenses. In addition to our accelerated format
we also offer the most affordable tuition out of
competing programs. Our students have access
to FAFSA financial assistance, loans, and
scholarships as well.

History of Success
We are very proud to have a high success rate
for our graduates who have gone on to work on
television shows such as Castle, Empire, and Once
Upon a Time; video games such as World of Warcraft,
Spate, and Destiny; and films such as The Revenant,
Trolls, The Dark Tower, and Guardians of the Galaxy
Vol. 2. Apply now and you could be joining their ranks!
Applications are being accepted for the Fall 2018
school year.
We offer rolling admissions – no deadline to apply.

I. SMALL PETTY PEOPLE
A (REGRETFULLY LONG w/apologies) MESSAGE FROM CHARLES FERNANDEZ

When I was illegally charged by Local 47 for my
conducting and attending an educational demo
session I knew it wasn’t about the session, it
wasn’t even about the CMG (Collective Media
Guild) it was about the Blog, the one you’re
reading now.

Since 2005 the AFM and Local have been
desperate to shut it down.
THANK YOU 1st amendment.

So I ultimately paid their illegal, unethical fine,
and went fi-core.

According to the rules, you cannot use
Union facilities if you’re fi-core. That’s fine,
However, if an outside organization
uses a room at the union, that organization
can have anyone at the meeting they want.
If they can have non-union people at
their meeting they can have fi-core people
as well, as long as the fi-core musician
doesn’t play, EXCEPT in the case of a
paid rehearsal, in such a case the union
must allow the Fi-Core musician in under
a CBA.
.
Those running the Local thought when I went
fi-core the blog would disappear, but the
membership has made sure that hasn’t happened.
We’ve been getting some explosive stuff
(MAKE SURE YOU READ ‘BLUE BOY’ BELOW
– it’s important).

WHAT’S A LOCAL TO DO?

So what’s an RMA controlled Local to do?
Go scorched earth, and abuse the power of the
Local they control through a complicit officer
to destroy one member they have a personal
grudge against, as well as try to destroy their
relationship with any musical organization they
are affiliated with, in this case ASMAC (American
Society of Music Arrangers and Composers
– ASMAC.org).

For the past 15+ years I have been a
board member, sometimes secretary,
sometimes vice-president of this 80
year old proud and important organization.
As long as I have been a member,
it has met at the union.

Now however, they will no longer allow
our group at the union if I am there.
Again, an officer abusing their authority
against one individual member for personal
reasons. There are other non union
members on the ASAMC board, but
this is directly solely at me as an
individual.

Why? The excuse is I “made a scene” when
I went Fi-core, but again this an excuse.
It’s all about the blog. They’re willing to sacrifice
a decades long relationship with a storied
musical organization through countless AFM
administrations because of their petty
personal vendetta against one person.
Utterly pathetic and small.

If this were any other business the offending
persons would be fired and likely sued, but not
at Local 47.
.
SO WHAT HAPPENED?
DOUBLE CHARGING.

When I went to go fi-core I had already paid the full
yearly membership dues for 2018 ($210). I was told
that didn’t matter and had to pay an ADDITIONAL
$175 fi-core fee. As would be the case with anyone,
this upset me.

I asked why it couldn’t be deducted from the dues I
already paid and was told it was policy. I had a
discussion with Secretary Gary Lasley and left
(we’ve since communicated by email, where I
apologized for getting upset, he wrote back and
we’re fine, according to both of us.)

Last Wednesday, March 6TH, I wrote to the secretary
and formally requested the chapter and verse that
allows the local to double charge those who choose
fi-core status if they’ve paid their reg member dues.
As of this writing, I have not heard from him. I will
certainly keep writing until I do. If, as I suspect, I am
told that as a non-member I am not entitled to that
information, perhaps one of you fine upstanding
Local 47 members out there can make the same
request and send us the reply.

But again, this isn’t about my conduct going fi-core,
it’s about the blog not shutting down, it’s about
hurting me and anyone associated with me in
any way they can to get me to stop the blog
and further damage my career and relationships
in the business.

Petty and small indeed.

SHUTTING DOWN THE BLOG

It’s not going to happen.

I don’t believe the secretary is behind this, since
we’ve talked, I don’t believe VP Rick Baptist is
behind it, he worked for me for many years in
the studios. A consummate professional, No
one gives waa’s and wop’s like Rick. That leaves
only one officer and the group that he is beholden to.

This is how small, how petty, how subservient
the Executive Board of Local 47 is to the people
who really run the union. No backbone, No shame.

The one I am most disappointed in is Vice President Rick
Baptist, who I’ve known for decades as a stellar musician
and person but who has seemingly become subservient to
John Acosta and his handlers. I expected he would stand
up for what is right and in defense of the rank and file. It pains
me to learn otherwise. He been doing Acosta’s dirty work
in sending letters and busting sessions. Why can’t John
do it himself? Won’t look good in pictures or documentation
I suppose.

No organization or member deserves this treatment by
such a small petty group of people. If this upsets you
and you have the conviction to actually speak up (I’m
looking at you Local 47 board members) it’s about
time you did so. How long will you allow the
rank abuse of the officer’s power against individual
musicians to go on? Again, make sure to
read BLUE BOY below. This goes for the rank and
file as well. What will it take to get more musicians
to stand up and say “I’m mad as Hell and I”m not
going to take it any more”.

The abuse and selective enforcement this Local
and it’s handlers have engaged in without
conscience and without precedent is deplorable.

In my learned opinion. This Local is no longer a
solution for the rank and file, it is the problem.

CHARLES FERNANDEZ

============================

II. BLUEBOY SPEAKS
Noticed that your recent leaks have generated quite
the reaction from the RMA cronies. I am also wondering
if you have any IP address of the user which tried to
hack your blog. I am nearly sure that the SMIRK tried
to hack a few of us…I have IP addresses to share.
I am sending you screenshots from a video that
was sent to me by a friend of the musician who
was falsely accused at the “busted bridge session”.

[EC: We have an IP address or two to share as well.]

I have been authorized to allow you to post these.
The video in its entirety will be posted very soon.

The musician has been harassed because of a
“union error” (which is more or less an RMA-
sponsored targeting operation) has incurred
more than $15,000 in legal defense fees to
fight the union to restore their good name.

The local sent around the name of this person
with their name, address and phone number
attached to a photo of A DIFFERENT PERSON.
This musician was not even present at the
alleged “bridge session”. All our bosses got
this list through “back channels”. Erick Cruz
was, in fact, the official who made the false
identification. It would later be Gordon who
took the fall.

Gordon and Erick followed this member into
the parking lot after a business visit and,
essentially tried to intimidate and discourage
them. The member said nothing and Gordon
went on a wild rant, made snide comments
about a fellow member/contractor and gave a
softball “apology” all while scolding the member
for retaining a lawyer. The local still refuses to
rectify the distribution of fraudulent charges.

The member was also bullied in an attempt for
them to sign an unlawful NDA (non-disclosure
agreement) in exchange for an apology and a
tiny sum of taxable reimbursement.

The member is in the process of filing a civil complaint.

The member wants a proper apology but, John
Acosta refuses to print or post it all while hiding
behind the “decisions” made by his “executive
board”.

We can post it for them: I can’t say the union
was not warned multiple times……..Gordon
lost his job because of this…..who else thinks
its time for Acosta to lose his job over this?

PS: The RMA sent out a freakin love letter
thanking Gordon for his service after he got
the boot. Why else would the RMA thank
him unless he had been doing their dirty
work?! This is the newsletter statement
they sent around:

“Gordon Grayson has served as the Administrator
of the Electronic Media Division of Local 47
for the past eight years. A staunch labor advocate,
Gordon had previously worked at the Writers
Guild of America West. As he moves on, we
would like to express our gratitude for his
years of dedicated, straight-shooting service
to our Local, and to our musicians working in
recording. We wish him every future success!

– RMALA Board”

#takebackOURlocal

-BlueBoy

[Blueboy also provided us pictures clearly
showing Gordon Grayson and Erick Cruz
targeting musicians, you can see them at
the following links.

https://ibb.co/dC00V7

https://ibb.co/igHQxn

[EC: The Local and AFM have once again
proven themselves morally and ethically
bankrupt. Charles Fernandez as well incurred
over $15,000 in legal fees fighting bogus
charges instituted by Gordon Grayson but all
assisted by John Acosta.

In Mr. Fernandez’s Hearing, though Grayson
was asked the questions, he didn’t seem to
know any of the details and had to be assisted
in answering most questions by consulting
John Acosta. (Picture Cheney having to be in
the room when Bush Jr. was interviewed)
Though Grayson filed the charges,
Acosta was the force behind them.

You can find the transcript online and
read it for yourself.

Regarding the session where Mr. Fernandez
was targeted, there were two musicians
seen in pictures playing the entirety of the
nonunion session . The cellist who signed a
letter stating they saw Mr Fernandez conducting
(NOT against the bylaws) was STEVE VELEZ,
who then escaped any fine, and led directly
to Mr. Fernandez’s $15,000+ in legal costs.
The violist who refused to fraudulently target
Mr. Fernandez was fined initially $400.

Mr. Fernandez, though no bylaw was broken
was fined $2,500 for simply being at the session
as an educator.

This conduct shows NO ethics, NO morals
and NO conscience.Such behavior cannot
be tolerated in any legitimate organization.

We want to know your story of abuse by
this Local and the National AFM. Write to us.
If it can be verified, we’ll run it.]

==============================

III. UPDATE ON NATIONAL MPS MEETING
Location Confirmed

Save the date:
Nationwide Meeting for all AFM Musicians
March 21, 2018 at 5pm
St. Malachy’s Church
239 W 49th St, New York, NY
LIVE STREAMING ON FACEBOOK

BREAKING AFM PENSION NEWS!

• Musicians for Pension Security recently
obtained the AFM-EPF trustees’ own
documents made public by law. (read them
here) These documents reveal that the
pension trustees have been planning cuts
to our pension benefits going all the way
back to August of 2015. According to those
documents the trustees are targeting a
25-30% cut to existing benefits. *MPS
now believes the trustees could set a
MPRA application into motion as early as
June 2018, which starts the process that
allows the trustees to cut our benefits.

• MPS hired Tom Lowman, a nationally
recognized pension actuary, to review the
situation. At the March 21 meeting, Tom
will show how our trustees are proceeding
upon questionable assumptions that we
would like to change and will explain why.
He will present a plan to stabilize our
pension in the near term and will recommend
measures to assure the long-term stability
of the plan.

• Tom Lowman thinks that delaying cuts
and working on improving the funding is
the way to go. Cutting benefits now may
result in larger cuts than needed. Also,
cutting now while hoping to restore some
of those cuts later would be difficult.
He will explain why at the March 21 meeting.

• You will also hear from Jonathan
Kantor, our legal counsel, who will
explain the process that our trustees
are following to obtain the cuts, together
with legal options that they — and we —
have.

It is critical that all AFM members make
every effort to attend this meeting. For
those across the country who can’t be
there, the meeting will be streamed via
Facebook LIVE on the MPS Facebook page.
Your attendance at the MPS National
meeting will help to give you a better
understanding of what is happening
to our pension and the solutions we
think will make a difference.

If you haven’t already, please click here to
RSVP to the March 21st meeting.
Who is MPS? Click HERE.

What is MPRA? Click HERE.

In solidarity,
Musicians for Pension Security

==============================

IV. HELIX COLLECTIVE COMPOSING OPPORTUNITY –

DEADLINE, MARCH 25TH!

Apply to have your original score performed live-to-
picture by Helix Collective at the 2018 Los Angeles
Live Score Film Festival! Apply with a link to your
video reel and a PDF score.
Application deadline: March 25, 2018
APPLY HERE
More info: www.lalsff.org
LASFF Trailer Video

The Los Angeles Live Score Film Festival features
short films with original scores performed live-to-
picture. The 2018 festival on Saturday, July 21st
at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre is presented by
Helix Collective in collaboration with the
Academy of Scoring Arts. Films for the 2018 festival
are curated by the faculty at the New York Film
Academy, Columbia College, Hollywood, and
the L.A. Film School.

Selected film composers are paired with a winning
filmmaker to create an original score for the festival.
The film is screened with the score performed live
by the renowned performance and recording ensemble,
Helix Collective. The screening includes an interview
with the filmmakers and composers. Awards for Best
Picture and Best Musical Score are presented at the
close of the festival.

Now in it’s fifth season, LALSFF’s goal is to highlight
the role of collaboration between composers and
filmmakers. Acting like a talent agent, the festival
brings experts in the two disciplines together. At the
screenings, filmmakers and composers hear and
see the work of new colleagues, meet new collaborators,
and establish working relationships with each other.

Helix Collective www.helixcollective.net

================================

V. COMMENTS

Thank you for your blog post. Really thank you! Awesome.
————————

Thank goodness for the blog. You are the only
thing standing between the union and
blind corruption without accountability.

================================

VI. EVENTS

DEAN AND RICHARD

are now at Culver City Elks

the first Friday of every month.

7:30pm-10:30pm,

11160 Washington Pl. Culver City,

90232

310-839-8891
——————————————————

3/12/18
Dear friends,
I’d like to invite you to a unique concert that will take
place next Monday night, March 12th at 7:30 pm
at the First Christian Church of North Hollywood.
It will be a rare opportunity to hear a first-rate
performance by a leading young concert artist
in the accordion world, Grayson Masefield.

Grayson is from New Zealand and has become a
sought-after concert artist, presently continuing his
studies towards a masters degree in music at the
HEMU – University of Music, Lausanne, Switzerland.
He will be in Los Angeles for this one night only and
will share his program mix of new concert music
specifically written for the accordion as well as
interpretations of Baroque and Classical selections.
Many of you have heard me speak of the wealth of
music for accordion that we seldom hear – music
that utilizes the accordion in ways other than as a
pop/folk instrument. I often travel to other parts of
the world for events that celebrate the accordion
music in this way and to hear this kind of performance
and the new music being written for the instrument.

This is a rare opportunity to hear something that is
new to you. Come join me (and bring a friend) in
welcoming Grayson in concert. After the concert
I will provide dessert and beverages at my home
nearby to give you an opportunity to meet him!
Liz Finch
(818) 766-3101
(818) 679-7958 (cell)

First Christian Church of North Hollywood
4390 Colfax Ave.
Studio City, 91604
(The church is on the corner of Cofax Ave.
and Moorpark St. – East of Laurel Cyn. Blvd,
north of Ventura Blvd. There is free parking
in the church parking lot and some street parking.)

The Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program at the Seattle Film Institute
is now accepting applications for the one-year
Master of Music in Film Composition
One of the Top 4 Film Music Programs in the World!
Recently rated as the #4 school in the world for film scoring education by Music School Central.
“in just one year, the school places students into a pressure cooker of intense learning resulting in a professional demo reel that can be used to obtain future paid commercial opportunities.”

Learn from Industry Professionals
All PNWFS faculty are active professional film and game composers, orchestrators, copyists, and engineers, including the program’s creator and lead instructor Dr. Hummie Mann. Hummie is the two-time Emmy Award winning film composer of “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and featured in Variety Magazine’s article “Leaders in Learning”.
Our Program Features: • 9 live recording sessions with professional musicians at Studio X, Seattle’s premiere, world-class studio. • Opportunities to work with student directors to score actual films from film programs all over the world. • Training in all major software programs used in the industry. • A state-of-the-art workstation assigned to each student fully installed with the latest versions of all software, sample libraries and plug-ins needed to complete the program.

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We are a one-year Master of Music in Film Composition program which not only gives our graduates the opportunity to enter the industry and start their careers a year sooner than other programs but saves them an entire year of living expenses. In addition to our accelerated format we also offer the most affordable tuition out of competing programs. Our students have access to FAFSA financial assistance, loans, and scholarships as well.

History of Success
We are very proud to have a high success rate for our graduates who have gone on to work on television shows such as Castle, Empire, and Once Upon a Time; video games such as World of Warcraft, Spate, and Destiny; and films such as The Revenant, Trolls, The Dark Tower, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Apply now and you could be joining their ranks!
Applications are being accepted for the Fall 2018 school year. We offer rolling admissions – no deadline to apply.

(800) 882-4734 | www.pnwfilmmusic.com ——————————————– UNTIL NEXT TIME, THE COMMITTEE FOR A MORE RESPONSIBLE LOCAL 47